Disparities in the Proportion of Ticagrelor and Prasugrel-eligible Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome in a Real-world Registry

This retrospective single-center study at University Hospital of Heidelberg aims to consecutively screen all patients with suspected ACS over a 24-month period. Patients will be managed in a chest pain unit (CPU), which is a specialized ED led by a cardiologist and requires certification by the German Cardiac Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie; DGK). More than 320 certified CPUs are distributed across Germany and represent the preferred facilities for evaluating patients with suspected ACS. CPU organization and certification requirements have been previously published.

The ED is under the supervision of a senior cardiologist who is responsible for decisions regarding admission or discharge, selection of antiplatelet and antithrombotic drugs, and indication and timing of an invasive strategy. All patients will undergo a clinical assessment, including medical history, physical examination, 12-lead ECG, continuous ECG monitoring, pulse oximetry, and standard blood tests. The standard 12-lead ECG includes routinely precordial leads V7-V9. Results will be reported on the electronic patient record and communicated to the clinicians responsible for patient care.

There is unlimited access to coronary angiography or other diagnostic resources as per the required criteria for certification of a CPU. Although STEMI patients were not excluded from the analysis, patients with qualifying ST-segment elevations or a presumably new bundle branch block were primarily seen in the catheterization laboratory bypassing the ED. All decisions for adjunctive pharmacological treatments are left to the discretion of the invasive cardiologist before transfer back for observation to the coronary care ward or to the ED.

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) will be diagnosed in-hospital by treating clinicians based on all clinical information, using the diagnostic criteria of the 3rd or 4th universal MI definition. For research purposes, two cardiologists will retrospectively confirm ED diagnoses, with a third cardiologist consulted in case of discordance. All files of patients with confirmed ACS will be screened for information on body weight, pretreatment with P2Y12-Inhibitors before hospital admission, pre-treatment with oral anticoagulants before index admission, or new requirement for oral anticoagulation. Data on age, selection of antiplatelet drugs, invasive strategy including rates of coronary angiography, PCI, CABG, a planned conservative, or conservative therapy in the case of complex coronary angiography or failed PCI were already collected in the electronic registry database, and findings from this registry have been previously published.